Pretty Miss Emma

We all know Kenzie's issues with lack of attention!! Anyway, agility classes have been the best thing for her in terms of getting more focus. Her reactivity has decreased/become much more controllable, her recall is much better, she looks to me for many more things now. So regardless of recall I'd say try and find somewhere that you can get started on foundation work (assuming that your dog is old enough to do so!!) as it really helps build that bond between you. When I started I was working on the theory of having the only goal of getting a more focussed dog with a better bond to me - I've got that plus a little agility superstar (well she will be when we start competing!!)!!

Emma and I did some work with a kids who was scared of dogs - he'd been attacked by one and will carry the scars of it for life. Of course his family went out and bought a Kelpie pup that the kid was also afraid of because it was jumpy, mouthy, etc etc. Anyway, he did some work with Em and I through our obedience club. Emma and I were specially chosen for the job purely because of Em's nature. She was totally focussed on me, was super calm (she was 10 years old at this time), was pretty much bomb proof to everything and also was an assessed therapy dog. We certainly didn't do enough work with this kid (because his family stopped coming when they had seen some progress, but it's an ongoing thing!) but he did become more confident. I went in each week with a goal of what I hoped he would be able to do. When I first met him he couldn't even stand within about 3m of Em. I used to hang out with him and show him Emma's tricks. After a couple of weeks he was able to walk with us (beside me, which was also pretty much beside Em!) on our pre-training walk. He also got enough confidence to throw treats to her. Eventuallly I tricked him in to holding her lead (shoe lace!!! And she was just sitting beside me the whole time, but he was petrified of touching the lead before then). And in the last couple of week I saw him he developed enough confidence to shake hands and hi-5 her and also feed her a treat from a flat hand (and somewhere along the line he figured out that he could pat her along her neck). But all of this took a long time and was with an exceptionally calm, well behaved and dellightful dog. Every time he had an experience with a dog that jumped at him you could see him being set back. I really think it's important that your grandson only meet exceptionally well behaved dogs that can demonstrate good manners (and who have owners that have instilled this in their training). In all honesty I really don't think it's appropriate for any sized dog to be jumping on anyone or barking at anyone to say hello, not too many people would be interpretting that as being polite and friendly. I'd do everything I could for your grandson to avoid dogs like this. That's something to build up to a long way down the track. Maybe you can get in touch with Delta or some other organisation that does pet-therapy work and see if you can try to do some desensitisation with one of those dogs. It's going to be a slow process that your grandson really needs to lead (ie not be forced in to uncomfortable situations), but I really think that you will see some improvement if you can find the right dog to help you. Oh, and I agree with what others have said, getting a puppy would be a bad idea for this child (might be good for the others but likely could cause some big issues for him). Even if he does start to get over his fear it may be worth looking in to older dogs rather than a pupppy - always comes down to the individual dog but older usually means a bit calmer, not mouthy, etc. Good luck, it can be conquered!!

Need more help!!! Is there a theme or anything? I just got a litter of foster kittens and I am using the theme of "white" to figure out names for them - at least it narrows the field!!! So any ideas on theme - attributes? Scottish? Black and white? etc etc!! Does she have a registered name that we can tweak to get a name? Kenzie's registered name is "trick or treat" and she was very nearly called Trixie. :D

Tazzie may not have had a happy start but she had a happy ending, thankyou for doing that for her. But sorry the time together had to be so short, may have been a short time but it was a good time for both of you. My thoughts are with you and RIP little Tazzie.

Emma used to wear a riff wear portage. It was excellent, good support. Without it her head just bobbed above the water, with she sat nice and high and I didn't need to worry she was going to drown! Oh and she was able to move well with it on both in water and on land.

Yep, I'm Mum to my baby girl!! I want to have human kids hopefully and I don't think it will change even then, it's just how it is! I also tell Kenzie that she's going to visit her Grandma and Grandpa!!

My Border totally dislikes some breeds of dogs yet loves others, she decides that bit! But one thing she really hates regardless of the breed is dogs that rush up to her face and she reacts by growling and snapping - in my mind rightfully so as the other dogs are just being rude, doesn't meant hat is a good behaviour but I try to manage situations so that other dogs can't do this to her which often means me blocking them as they rush up. I find that Kenz likes to have her space, with other borders that space is usually a lot closer than with other breeds. But Kenzie will play with other dogs and does like them just usually not on lead and she likes to play in open space whre she can create space if she needs to. So maybe your puppy is just asking for space? Also, like dancinbcs mentioned, get her focusing on you and not worrying about the other dogs. I know that Kenz reacts through anxiety about the other dogs (what will they do, will the come near, will they bark, oh well I'll get in first and make them go away so I don't have to deal with it), so I do a lot of work with her just trying to reinforce calm around other dogs and positive experiences for just looking at them and being near them. Just last night she went beserk at a dog who I know but she hasn't met, so we spent about 10 minutes getting Kenz to look at the dog and inch closer eventually she and the other dog were about 1.5m from each other both sitting calmly - it's taken me a long time to get to a point where we can do this but once she realised the dog was no threat and we just slowly got closer and there was no real interaction required she was able to just sit there and cope with being near the other dog. But it's taken us a while!!! Oh and it's taken me a long time to work on my own body language, and keeping that in check so that Kenzie doesn't react due to me being stressed!!! I guess the thing I've learnt about borders (particularly the girls) is that they are so sensitive and pick up on things you haven't even noticed so much earlier than you'd even imagine!!! So she may be seeing things (or even think she's seeing things) and you have no idea what it might be. If you're having trouble with this problem get someone to help you (trainer/behaviourist) as it will just make hers and your lives so much happier when you go out of the house when you can manage it!

RuralPug, send me the info and I will pass it on to my friend she thinks she may be able to help out and will at least have a chat with the person and see what she can do.

One of my friends bought me a rose plant. I bought myself this to wear whenever I want Em near, and I also bought Kenzie this one that she wears on her collar. But I sort of think these might be a bit personal. Plants always go down well with me.

Have sent this info to a friend in Ballarat, will get back to you if they can help out.

I'm wondering if it is a learned behaviour from another dog or is it that he hasn't been trained that this isn't an appropriate behaviour or is it instinctive???? I don't have a male dog (and haven't had one) so don't really know. My female dog will mark over others scents, but she knows that this is appropriate on grass and not other places (as in she has been trained for this) and even then I still try to minimise the behaviour. I also don't really know a lot about marking, so it's an interesting question for me to ponder also! I would think that you should be able to train your current dog to do this behaviour appropriately (which will no doubt require you to be vigilant and prevent him doing it where it is unwanted). And I would also think that you could train a pup not to do this - which may be easier if you start from scratch as he hasn't learnt that he can do something different. But like I said I don't really know I'm just sort of trying to logically think it through! I would think that it would be similar to training other behaviours. I'm also interested to see what others have to say about this as I'm thinking my next dog will be male and definitely do not want him marking inappropriately!!

If anyone is looking for a harness for the car - Clean Run has a couple on their free shipping page. They look a bit different to some of the things here, possibly a bit more comfy for the pups!

When Kenzie travels in the cargo section she still wears her normal seatbelt harness and I have a leash that is attached to the cargo barrier (or in another car there were some anchor points where the floor met the side of the car) ad she is then attached to that leash. So that way even though she is in the cargo area she is still attached (I started doing this as I didn't trust that she wouldn't just jump out when I opened the door, so it was a preventative for this!!!).

Don't know of a full body harness (other than ccrating!!). But agree with you re the airbag issue. I would be thinking that the recommendations would be the same as they are for people, that's why they say don't have kids in the front seat - the impact of an airbag deploying can seriously hurt them as they ar enot big enough. I don't know what the weight is that they say it's ok, for some reason I feel like it's about 25kg but that is not factual information at all! The other thing I would be worried about with a dog in the front seat is that they tend to sit/lean forward whereas a person tends to sit more back into the seat and no doubt that would not be good if an airbag went off. i try to avoid having Kenzie in the front seat at all unless there is some reason that she just has to be there and can't fit anywhere else.

I think it sounds like a good course. Sometimes it doesn't matter if there arson prospects directly related to the course, do something you're interested in and will enjoy. There's heaps of jobs out there where there is no specific course to set you up for it you need a skill set and why not get that skill set through a course you're interested in! Mind you I also think if you're interested in learning go ahead and learn! It sounds interesting to me other than it's at a uni and I have no desire to go back to that level of study! If you have a weblink to the course could you PM it to me as I'd love to have a look!

This isn't like what Kenzie has but I guess if the crate is secured in the car then I would be fine (I only say that as it doesn't look as if it wedges in so the crate itself could be thrown around if there was an accident), but others who use crates in the car are probably better advising on how to deal with this! I use a set up like this (hopefully that link works! and I don't have a dog like the one in the pic but it's a bit cute!!). I don't know I'm thinking anything is better than a loose dog in the car, and then there is obviously what works better or worse for your dog and car!

I had Emma on propalin for quite a long time (she started on stilboestrol but it stopped working). In the 18 months or so she was on the propalin I think she may have had a total of 3 accidents. So it worked exceptionally well for us.

dyzney that's awful! We are certainly no where near as bad off as it sounds like you were. But it really does make you think. I hope you both recover ok, and I hope that Dyz bounces back to car travel the way Kenzie has.

Hi all! I know there are many differing views on restraining dogs in cars. But just wanted to mention it for people to have a think about. We had a car accident yesterday. The car is not in such good shape (may be written off and certainly is not able to be driven), but myself and Kenzie are pretty much fine. Thankfully I had her strapped in with her harness and buckled in to the seat belt in the back seat. I'm pretty sure when I got hit (rear-ended) that she still hit the back of my seat even though she was strapped in. Had she not been strapped in I dread to think where she could have ended up. The other thing was I then had to open and shut the door of my car several times on a freeway in peak hour and then finally remove her from the car; every time I opened a door she was desperately trying to get out. Had she not been strapped in she may have been successful and then there would also have been a loose dog on a freeway. So I'm not saying anyone should or shouldn't use particular things or whatever, but I am saying think about where your dog is when you're in the car and what could happen if you have an accident (in terms of your dog at the time of the accident but also when you have to get in and out of the car). Better to plan for something that may never happen than to end up in a horrible situation. Oh, and Kenz had to travel in the car again today. She was a little reluctant to get in at first but then she was more than happy and had a good nap (maybe a few nervous "I'm trying to climb to you" moments and kisses when she first got in, but then ok!!). Very happy about this as I was all prepared for her to petrified of the car!!

Fell into them because I fell in love and adopted a dog at a shelter!!! Mind you it was also the breed that I had always researched and thought that I would one day have. But I didn't adopt the dog with that in mind, it really was just about love! But now that I have my 2nd there was much more thought in getting her. I like the activities that I can do with them, lurve their looks, love any creature that learns quickly and loves to learn. Plus to some extent I think they match my personality in terms of the traits they have (I was talking about it with a friend who has a GR, and she was saying how her dog likes to "read the paper from front to back" just like she does; whereas Kenz is like me "skim through for the interesting stories"!!!). Am still debating if there are other breeds I'd like to own, so far there is only one and they have similar qualities to the one I already have (but aren't by any means the same!). BC's are ace - if you're the right person for them!!!

The two things tha jump straight into my mind are... -pup getting used to time on it's own -have lots of things that pup can chew so that you have easy items to redirect on to if it starts chewing something it's not supposed to There's heaps but I think other than worrying about how pup can get in to trouble (and avoiding it!!), the other thing I think I would place as a very high priority is ensuring that you do lots of good bonding type activities. Most of all, just enjoy!!!

"Chuck it"?

I saw this movie once, possibly one of the most traumatic movies for me to watch - I just don't do well with animal movies!!!! Worst thing was I watched on a flight to Perth, arrived and walked of the plane in tears and had my friend who was picking me up totally stressed about what was wrong as I couldn't tell her why I was crying so much!!! Can never watch it again, it's just too emotionally draining!!!

I don't know if I trust pet shops to match animals to owners. I have heard of models like this where the shelter puts someone in the place where the animals are being sold and it is their job to match them to the home, so the shop really is just providing exposure for the animals the shelter still takes responsibility for the animal.

My training system for this was the same as what ness said! If Kenzie didn't put it in my hand then it just didn't get thrown again. I did start by placing my hand where she was going to drop the ball but very quickly transitioned to her having to find my hand. She wanted the game to go on enough that she'd drop it in my hand.